Ballymena man Liam Neeson will play a lead role in Martin Scorsese's latest film, called Silence , which is tipped for a November release - just in time for awards season.

Neeson has never won an Academy Award, despite being nominated for Best Actor in 1994 film Schindler's List .

Scorsese is a perennial award winner, having bagged 20 Academy Awards (nicknamed Oscar awards after the statuette figure), 11 Golden Globes and 23 BAFTA awards - so is Silence the film that will see Liam Neeson bag his first Oscar?

Neeson and Scorsese worked together on Gangs of New York , and Neeson still enjoys working with the direction. Speaking to Collider.com, he hailed Scorsese as "legendary" and "a very special director."

He said: "For actors he's exceptional. His level of concentration and focus, what he prepares for the actors before you come on set is just wonderful.”

The Oscar awards ceremony will take place on Sunday 26 February 2017, and winter releases are always strong contenders.

Couple that with Scorsese's pedigree: Wolf Of Wall Street received five nominations at the Academy Awards, while Goodfellas and The Departed shared five Academy Awards between them, and it looks likely that Neeson will finally get his hands on an Oscar.